I posted previously, about my puppy's excessive biting (of me). We had a week, where things seemed to be getting better, but now back to ridiculous hard biting. I am at my wit's end! 8 straight weeks of bloody arms, hands, and legs. I tried every suggestion given, and nothing sticks. The second I run out of treats in my hand, I am bitten. She wears a light leash in the house, and if she is really biting, I am still bitten while taking her calmly by the leash and trying to direct her away from me. NOT mouthing, but skin broken and bloody EVERY time. At this point, my arms and hands hurt, from the wounds. Take her for a walk every day, twice a day minimum, and out of nowhere on the walk, she'll lunge for my legs and puncture me. Never in my life, have I had such a challenge with a puppy. Today I was near my grandpup, and actually taken aback that I wasn't being bitten. She doesn't bite me! 8 previous puppies, so I'm not new at this. Help!
Oh dear. I'm so sorry you are hurting. It's no joke as it really hurts so much. I almost lost the plot with my 15 week old boy, it seemed it was just me he's trying to bite. But just the last couple of days I have been physically picking him up and putting him outside or anywhere away from me. He can still see me and I totally ignore him. If he tries to bite me when I'm sitting down I shove a toy in his mouth. I don't shout at him or growl. I say as calmly and firmly as I can NO. These are smart dogs as you know. Some just take a bit longer than others..... He still tries to bite but today it has been less and he responded to me putting him out in the garden by coming in and sitting on my feet as I washed up. lol I've read so many posts about this and I don't think there's a quick solution, we just have to be consistent and stronger willed than them. I do feel for you and hope it improves for us both. Sorry I have no answer for you but you are not alone.
Great advice. There isn’t much else you can do until they learn that biting doesn’t get them anywhere.
So very sorry Harley! What really helped with our puppy was to ignore her completly. As soon she started biting, or jumping, playtime was Done. I would turn around, did not say anything, no eye contact..if she continued biting and jumping, I calmy put her in a different room behind a baby gate (or crate if you have one) Not until after she stopped barking, and fussing was she aloud back out. If you do as much as pick her up, and take her outside you have just taught her that by showing bad behaviour I get attention and get to go outside, same with a toy. I just bite her, and I'm being rewarded with a toy. At some point she will understand that biting will not get her nowhere. If you are outside walking, I would instantly turn around and go back inside, and do the same. I'm not a trainer though, that's just some of the things my trainer told me, and it really worked.I know it can so frustrating at times, but it does pass! GOOD LUCK to you a d your puppers
When dog bites you leave the room. When dog quiets down you return. They very quickly learn that biting means people leave, the opposite of their desires. Of course that’s inside with a baby gated kitchen or what have you but it’s very effective. Giving zero reaction to biting is the other strategy, the more you try to stop it and the more noise you make and the more excited you get the more they bite. They think it’s your way of playing with them. You need to teach them what is acceptable play... on your terms. As soon as they get excited or bite... drop everything without saying a word and move along. Easier said than done but simple and effective. Also all dogs are somewhat different and respond to different methods but as a general most respond to those techniques. They are very smart dogs and learn quickly what they can get away with unless the dog has behavioural problems. Good luck. Stick to your guns. Outside has a different set of challenges but instead of walking you could train and fetch and find it games. This works the mind and helps show them acceptable interactions with humans
That’s probably a large part of the problem. Pick one option and stick to it consistently. For us, we put him in another room or his crate every time he bit us. Very calmly, then after a minute or so he was allowed back to play. If he bit us again, straight back. We also used to say “no teefs” when he did it, and if he gets a bit mouthy now we just say no teefs and he stops straight away.
We're in the same spot as Harley Sue - 15 week old pup biting - Hard! He's not so bad with me, but its really starting to get to my wife and we're finding it very hard to ignore as it seems to come out of nowhere - so the 'calm' bit seems to go out the window
Folks, puppies have sharp teeth and Labrador puppies can be very bitey - it is how they interact with the world. There are loads and loads of threads to read on this subject, if you type 'puppy biting' in the search bar you will get endless help on the subject, there's even a sticky at the top of this forum focussing only on this particular issue. To some degree, it's necessary to weather this phase until the puppy outgrows the stage of life that involves interacting with everything through his mouth. If things are getting worse rather than better, it suggests that there is something you are doing which is actually reinforcing the behaviour. Like giving the puppy attention. Or saying 'ouch' in an exciting way. Or (if a child) screaming and running around to be chased. And so on... Identify what is reinforcing the behaviour, remove it...
Thank you for reaching out. I think I’ll just have to put her in another room, so she’ll hopefully get the message. She loves to be with people, so perhaps solitary confinement will get through to her. Best of luck to you, as well!
It’s exhausting, and really takes the joy out of the puppy experience. No one understands how bad it is, until they see the bruises and scabs all over my arms and legs. I feel for your wife!
I feel so bad for everyone who's getting bitten, kyko is 17 weeks tomorrow & I think he has given me a very unrealistic experience of owning a puppy. Has slept right through the night after the first week he was home, doesn't really chew anything apart from his own toys, even those have mostly faired well with 95% of them still intact after 6 weeks. He did try to bite a couple of times & we put him in timeout in his crate for about a minute & he stopped. I was expecting it to be much harder & really feel we have just been very lucky with him. The only real problem with Kyko is when we leave him alone, but we're working on it & getting there. I'm sorry I can't be of any help
Same here. I read some of the stories and I just feel awful for others. I haven’t had to go through that. There was the normal puppy biting for me where buddy did it when playing. He did break skin a couple of times or leave little marks here and there, but it wasn’t scary or anything terrible. The ignoring and redirecting to chew toys worked for him. So we didn’t need to really try anything else. So yea, I definitely don’t understand what some may have gone through or are going through. But I really wish everyone that best and hope the biting gets better because it can hurt!
Honestly, you are describing my last 2 labs! This girl of mine is a dream come true, but for the biting! Slept all night since we brought her home. Goes to the door when she needs to go out. Hasn't chewed up the furniture. Loves to ride in the car. Great at the park and the beach. Loves to meet new people. The biting issue has been so draining and painful, because it is so frequent. I can't spend the entire day driving or at the park! House devil, street angel! So happy for you! Enjoy!
